10 Best CMB2 Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
CMB2 has 300,000+ active installs on WordPress.org. These 10 plugins share its category or its tags on WordPress.org, are actively maintained, and each has at least 100 active installs. They are ordered by how closely they match, not by our opinion.
The 10 closest alternatives to CMB2
- 1
Custom Field Template
Closest match4.0 (24) 30,000+ active installsThe Custom Field Template plugin extends the functionality of custom fields.
Shares the fields tag on WordPress.org. 30,000+ installs against 300,000+, last updated 27 days ago.
- 2
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®)
4.5 (1,438) 2 million+ active installsACF helps customize WordPress with powerful, professional and intuitive fields. Proudly powering over 2 million sites, WordPress developers love ACF.
Shares the fields tag on WordPress.org. About 6.7 times the installs, rated 4.5 against 5.0, last updated 10 days ago.
- 3
4.0 (29) 60,000+ active installsA lightweight extension of Advanced Custom Field (ACF) that adds Photo Gallery field to any post/pages on your WordPress website.
Shares the fields tag on WordPress.org. About a quarter of the installs, last updated December 26, 2025.
- 4
Advanced Custom Fields: Extended
4.8 (132) 100,000+ active installsAll-in-one enhancement suite that improves WordPress & Advanced Custom Fields.
Shares the fields tag on WordPress.org. About a third of the installs, rated 4.8 against 5.0, last updated 11 days ago.
- 5
4.8 (64) 90,000+ active installsSecure Custom Fields boosts content management with custom fields and options. It deactivates Advanced Custom Fields to prevent duplicate code errors.
Shares the fields tag on WordPress.org. About a third of the installs, rated 4.8 against 5.0, last updated 17 days ago.
- 6
Forminator Forms
Paid version availableForminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder
4.8 (2,121) 600,000+ active installsBest WordPress form builder plugin. Create contact forms, payment forms & order forms with 1000+ integrations.
Shares the forms tag on WordPress.org. About 2 times the installs, rated 4.8 against 5.0, last updated 11 days ago.
- 7
Lazy Blocks
Paid version availableCustom Block Builder – Lazy Blocks
4.9 (80) 20,000+ active installsEasily create custom blocks and custom meta fields for Gutenberg without hard coding.
Shares the fields tag on WordPress.org. 20,000+ installs against 300,000+, rated 4.9 against 5.0, last updated 7 days ago.
- 8
4.5 (21) 10,000+ active installsCustom blocks for WordPress made easy.
Shares the fields tag on WordPress.org. 10,000+ installs against 300,000+, last updated April 20, 2026.
- 9
Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites
4.8 (165) 500,000+ active installsMeta Box plugin is a powerful, professional developer toolkit to create custom meta boxes and custom fields for your custom post types in WordPress.
About 1.7 times the installs, rated 4.8 against 5.0, last updated 4 days ago.
- 10
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor
4.7 (504) 600,000+ active installsElementor forms builder to create WordPress forms like contact form, booking form, feedback form, survey form, application form & 40+ form templates.
About 2 times the installs, rated 4.7 against 5.0, last updated 8 days ago.
Switching from CMB2: common questions
What is the best alternative to CMB2?
Custom Field Template is the closest match: it shares the same WordPress.org tags and has 30,000+ active installs with a 4.0 out of 5 rating.
Which CMB2 alternative has the most users?
Advanced Custom Fields, with 2 million+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which CMB2 alternative is rated highest?
Lazy Blocks, rated 4.9 out of 5 by 80 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these CMB2 alternatives free?
Every plugin listed here is free to install from WordPress.org. Where WordPress.org marks a plugin as commercial, the developer also sells a paid version or add-ons, and that is shown on each plugin.
How are alternatives chosen?
Automatically, from WordPress.org data: plugins that share a category top 10 with CMB2 score highest, then plugins that appear in the same WordPress.org rankings, then plugins with the same tags, weighted so rare tags count more than common ones. Plugins by the same author and plugins rated under 4.0 are left out.
How we choose these alternatives
Nothing on this page is picked by hand. Every day we walk the whole WordPress.org directory, then score every plugin against CMB2 on three signals: sharing a category top 10 counts most, then appearing in the same WordPress.org rankings, then carrying the same tags, with rare tags counting for more than common ones like "wordpress". Plugins by the same author are excluded, so an author's own add-ons cannot fill the list, and so is anything rated below 4.0 or with fewer than 100 active installs. The ten highest scores are what you see, in that order. Full methodology.
The bottom line
Custom Field Template is the closest match to CMB2 by the data we track, and Advanced Custom Fields has the widest reach with 2 million+ active installs. Meta Box shipped the most recent release, on September 3, 2026. The list is rebuilt every day from WordPress.org, so a plugin that stops being maintained drops out on its own.
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What moved this week
One email a week, built from the same daily snapshots these rankings come from: the plugins that climbed, what launched, and one ranking worth a look.